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CMG president and video of Oxnard shop

Folks,

I wasn't sure if anyone had posted this, but I hadn't noticed it before. I saw it on the Guild website and thought I'd post it. This is a very short interview with Jon Thomas, and it is all basically marketing, but nice to see anyway. Watch the vid if you haven't already seen it.

"We respect what came before us, but are currently building guitars that appeal to today’s guitarists. In terms of design, we are close to boutique manufacturers–I hesitate to call our shop a “factory.” Sure, production takes place, but almost everything is done by hand. We use CNC machines for some rougher work, but but things like our bracings are handmade. The Guild production is smaller and more “boutique” than ever before, and you’ll notice that right away."

aka, if you really dig the Westerly years, you are living in the past...:) nah, that is a good story and piece, glad to see the continued dedication to the brand.

:) Yeah... I read it as a healthy acknowledgment of the brand and the business.

In reality, it sounds like they actually regressed from the machining used in New Hartford. Braces, for example, were cut by CNC in NH. Some of the neck work that I saw going on in the vid looked (not sure) like stuff that had been automated in NH.

Anyway, that was a poignant question that Jon was asked. We saw from the first models out of Oxnard that they were *not* really honoring the past with respect to the neck joint, and those models really were new, not copies of the past. He didn't really acknowledge that.

CNC machinery will make every piece identical to the rest until you change the machine settings. Hand-made is exactly that - every piece is different.

Guild Gallery #1 (late '97) pointed out that at that time at least, each workstation vetted each preceding station's work and those pieces needing re-work were sent back through.
I'm sure they mass-produced certain parts on jigs for consistency, but I'm also sure the fit and finish, no gaps or mismatched seams, were due to final hand touch-ups for perfect fit on every part.
Sounds like Oxnard's actually replicating that philosophy.
One well-known example of Westerly variation was in the necks, though.
For new members who may not know, every single one was given final shaping by hand on a belt or spindle sander.
Neck profile consistency was one of the first things mentioned as benefiting from CNC machining when New Hartford started up.
I'm not so sure that's necessarily a good thing, now.
Maybe Taylor fans like consistency to .001" tolerance, but at least with Westerlys, we can advise somebody: "If you don't like the neck on that one, try another one, it'll be different".
And it'll be true.
AND funny.

I kind of like the direction. Sort of like buying a custom Martin or Gibson that has more hand finishing in the process, but with standard features. Would love to see some F30 size 6 and 12's made in the USA.

You guys're all welcome. Oh, and Ralf, thanks... I definitely missed that! :)

Hey, Al, you might not know this but Bob Taylor toured the New Hartford shop at some point in (I think) 2013. I recall hearing from guru,jr. (I think), that Bob was quite critical of some of the hand-oriented parts of the process. It might've been the bridge placement part (in final assembly, that is, since Taylor doesn't do it that way) or maybe the neck fitting, I don't recall. Anyway, clearly lots of different ways of thinking about the problem. Bob's successes do not necessarily translate to universal appeal, as the continued existence of Guild proves. :)